Together, the Himalayan mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks, the Eight-thousanders, which include Mount Everest and K2. To comprehend the enormous scale of this mountain range, consider that Aconcagua, in the Andes, at 6,962 metres (22,841 ft) is the highest peak outside Asia, whereas the Himalayan system includes over 100 mountains exceeding 7,200 m (23,622 ft).[1]

The Himalayas have profoundly shaped the cultures of South Asia; many Himalayan peaks are sacred in both Hinduism and Buddhism. The main Himalaya range runs, west to east, from the Indus river valley to the Brahmaputra river valley, forming an arc 2,400 km (1,491 mi) long, which varies in width from 400 km (249 mi) in the western Kashmir-Xinjiang region to 150 km (93 mi) in the eastern Tibet-Arunachal Pradesh region. The range consists of three coextensive sub-ranges, with the northern-most, and highest, known as the Great or Inner Himalayas.

Ecology

The flora and fauna of the Himalayas varies with climate, rainfall, altitude, and soils. The climate ranges from tropical at the base of the mountains to permanent ice and snow at the highest elevations. The amount of yearly rainfall increases from west to east along the front of the range. This diversity of climate, altitude, rainfall and soil conditions generates a variety of distinct plant and animal communities.

The Terai belt

Above the alluvial plain lies the Terai strip, a seasonally marshy zone of sand and clay soils. The Terai has higher rainfall than the plains, and the downward-rushing rivers of the Himalaya slow down and spread out in the flatter Terai zone, depositing fertile silt during the monsoon season, and receding in the dry season. The Terai has a high water table due to groundwater percolating down from the adjacent zone. The central part of the Terai belt is occupied by the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands, a mosaic of grasslands, savannas, deciduous and evergreen forests that includes some of the world's tallest grasslands. The grasslands of the Terai belt are home to the Indian rhinoceros(Rhinoceros unicornis).

Bhabhar belt

Above the Terai belt is an upland zone known as the Bhabhar, a zone of porous and rocky soils, made up of debris washed down from the higher ranges. The Bhabhar and the lower Shiwalik ranges have a subtropical climate. The Himalayan subtropical pine forests occupy the western end of the subtropical belt, with forests dominated by Chir Pine(Pinus roxburghii). The central part of the range is home to the Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, dominated by the sal tree(Shorea robusta). They are at the foot of the Himalayas where the Himalayan streams descend on to the plains.

Shiwalik Hills

Also called Churia or Margalla Hills, Sivalik Hills is an intermittent outermost range of foothills extending across the Himalayan region through Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bhutan. This region consists of many sub-ranges. Summits are generally 600 to 1,200 metres (2,000 to 3,900 ft). Steeper southern slopes form along a fault zone called Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT); northern slopes are gentler. Permeable conglomerates and other rocks allow rainwater to percolate downslope into the Bhabhar and Terai, supporting only scrubby forests upslope. The Himalayan subtropical pine and broadleaf forests continue here.

Inner Terai or Dun Valleys

The Inner Terai valleys are open valleys north of Shiwalik Hills or nestled between Shiwalik subranges. Examples include Dehra Dun in India and Chitwan in Nepal. Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests grow here.

Lesser Himalaya

Also called Mahabharat Range, the Lesser Himalayas is a prominent range 2,000 to 3,000 metres (6,600 to 9,800 ft) high formed along the Main Boundary Thrust fault zone, with a steep southern face and gentler northern slopes. They are nearly continuous except for river gorges, where rivers from to the north gather like candelabra in a handful of places to to break through the range.

At these elevations and above the biogeography of the Himalayas is generally divided by the Kali Gandaki Gorge in central Nepal, one of the deepest canyons in the world.

Midlands

This 'hilly' region (Pahad), averaging about 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) immediately north of the Mahabharat Range, rises over about 100 kilometres (330,000 ft) to about 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) at the Main Central Thrust fault zone, where the Greater Himalaya begin.

Greater Himalaya

North of the Main Central Thrust, the highest ranges rise abruptly as much as 4,000 metres (13,000 ft) into the realm of perpetual snow and ice. As the Himalayan system becomes wider from east to west, the number of parallel high ranges increases. For example, Kagmara and Kanjiroba ranges both reach well over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) north of the Dhaulagiri Himalaya in central Nepal.

Trans-Himalaya

The watershed between rivers flowing south into the Ganges or Indus and rivers flowing north into the Brahmaputra or mainstem Indus that flow around the ends of the entire range often follows somewhat lower, less rugged mountains tens of kilometers north of the highest ranges. South-flowing rivers form valleys in this region, often semi-arid due to rainshadow effects. These valleys hold some of the highest permanent villages on earth.

Origins and growth

The 6,000 km plus journey of the India landmass (Indian Plate) before its collision with Asia (Eurasian Plate) about 40 to 50 million years ago

The Indo-Australian plate is still moving at 67 mm per year, and over the next 10 million years it will travel about 1,500 km into Asia. About 20 mm per year of the India-Asia convergence is absorbed by thrusting along the Himalaya southern front. This leads to the Himalayas rising by about 5 mm per year, making them geologically active. The movement of the Indian plate into the Asian plate also makes this region seismically active, leading to earthquakes from time to time.

The higher regions of the Himalayas are snowbound throughout the year, in spite of their proximity to the tropics, and they form the sources for several large perennial rivers, most of which combine into two large river systems:

The western rivers combine into the Indus Basin, of which the Indus River is the largest. The Indus begins in Tibet at the confluence of Sengge and Gar rivers and flows southwest through India and then through Pakistan to the Arabian Sea. It is fed by the Jhelum, the Chenab, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej rivers, among others.

The Salween, Mekong, Yangtze and the Huang He (Yellow River) all originate from parts of the Tibetan plateau that are geologically distinct from the Himalaya mountains, and are therefore not considered true Himalayan rivers. Some geologists refer to all the rivers collectively as the circum-Himalayan rivers.[3] In recent years, scientists have monitored a notable increase in the rate of glacier retreat across the region as a result of global climate change.[4] Although the effect of this will not be known for many years, it potentially could mean disaster for the hundreds of millions of people who rely on the glaciers to feed the rivers of northern India during the dry seasons.[5]

Lakes

A high Himalayan lake at an altitude of around 5,000 metres Sikkim, India

The Himalaya region is dotted with hundreds of lakes. Most lakes are found at altitudes of less than 5,000 m, with the size of the lakes diminishing with altitude. The largest lake is the Pangong Tso, which is spread across the border between India and China. It is situated at an altitude of 4,600 m, and is 8 km wide and nearly 134 km long. A notable high (but not the highest) lake is the Gurudogmar in North Sikkim, at an altitude of 5,148 m (17,100 ft) (altitude source: SRTM). Other major lakes include the Tsongmo lake, near the Indo-China border in Sikkim, and Tilicho lake in Nepal in the Annapurna massif, a large lake in an area that was closed to tourists until recently.

The mountain lakes are known to geographers as tarns if they are caused by glacial activity. Tarns are found mostly in the upper reaches of the Himalaya, above 5,500 metres. For more information about these, see here.

The mountain ranges also prevent western winter disturbances in Iran from traveling further, resulting in snow in Kashmir and rainfall for parts of Punjab and northern India. Despite being a barrier to the cold, northernly winter winds, the Brahmaputra valley receives part of the frigid winds, thus lowering the temperature in the North East India and Bangladesh.

The Himalayas, which are often called "The Roof of the World", contain the greatest area of glaciers and permafrost outside of the poles. Ten of Asia’s largest rivers flow from here, and more than a billion people’s livelihoods depend on them. To complicate matters, temperatures are rising more rapidly here than the global average. In Nepal, the temperature has risen 0.6 degree C over the last decade, whereas the global warming has been around 0.7 degree C over the last hundred years.[6]

Mountain passes

The Himalayan range at Yumesongdong in Sikkim, in the Yumthang River valley

The rugged terrain makes few routes through the mountains possible. Some of these routes include:

Zoji La lies between the vale of Kashmir and the Kargil district, and is the only Western entrance to the highlands of Ladakh.

Mohan Pass is the principal pass in the Siwalik Hills, the southern most and geologically youngest foothills running parallel to the main Himalayas in Sikkim.

Impact on politics and culture

Mountain sheds like these are used by the rural populace as shelter for cattle in summer months as they take them for grazing in higher altitudes.

It should be noted that almost half of the humans and livestock of India live on one-third of the landscape within 500 km of the Himalayan range.(pdf, 3mb)

The Himalayas, due to their large size and expanse, have been a natural barrier to the movement of people for tens of thousands of years. In particular, this has prevented intermingling of people from the Indian subcontinent with people from China and Mongolia, causing significantly different languages and customs between these regions. The Himalayas have also hindered trade routes and prevented military expeditions across its expanse. For instance, Genghis Khan could not expand his empire south of the Himalayas into the subcontinent.

Panorama

Notable Himalayan mountaineers

Santosh Yadav is the first woman in the world to climb Mount Everest twice, and the first woman to successfully climb Mt Everest from the Kangshung Face.She first climbed the peak in May 1992, and then did it again in May 1993.

Nazir Sabir Pakistani mountaineer. First ascent of two eight thousanders (Broad Peak & Gasherbrum II) in a single attempt.

Swami Sundaranand (b. 1926 India) Climbed 25 mountains with little or no equipment from 1950-1990 to experience open eyed Samādhi using the ancient techniques of the Himalayan yogis. Noted also for his extensive photography of the Indian Himalayas.[8][9][10] Land has been secured in Gangotri, India, for a museum dedicated to his rare Himalayan photos and documentation of the Himalayan Glaciers with a special emphasis on environmental protection of the region.

Casey Mackins An English mountaineer who climbed Mt Everest by a new route without oxygen from Tibet in 1984 and then again from Nepal in 1990 during his famous Sea to Summit expedition where he became the first person to climb Everest starting from sea level

José Antonio Delgado Sucre(1965–2006) was the first Venezuelan mountaineer to reach the summit of five eight-thousanders. He was one of the most experienced climbers in Latin America. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela.

Ed Viesturs (b. June 22, 1959) is the first American, and 12th person overall, to summit all fourteen eight-thousanders, and the sixth climber to do it without bottled oxygen.

Pemba Dorjie (born c. 1977) a Sherpa who currently holds the world record for the quickest climb to the summit of Mount Everest from camp. On May 21, 2004 Dorjie set that record, with a total time of 8 hours and 10 minutes.

Apa Sherpa (born c. 1960) On May 21, 2009, successfully summited Mt. Everest for the 19th time, breaking his own record for most successful ascents.

Krzysztof Wielicki (born 1950) Polish mountaineer, the fifth man to climb all fourteen eight-thousanders. Three of them (Mount Everest, Kangchenjunga and Lhotse) he ascended as the first man ever to do it in winter.

The Yeti is one of the most famous creatures in cryptozoology. It is a large primate-like creature that is supposed to live in the Himalaya. Most mainstream scientists and experts consider current evidence of the Yeti's existence unpersuasive, and the result of hoaxes, legend or misidentification of mundane creatures.

Shambhala is a mystical city with various legends associated with it, it is one of twenty-four Himalayan hidden realms, or beyul, in Vajrayana Buddhism.[14] While some legends consider it to be a real city where secret Buddhist doctrines are being preserved, other legends believe that the city does not physically exist, and can only be reached in the mental realm.

The Himalayas in art, literature, and film

Kim, by Rudyard Kipling, is the signature account of life in nineteenth century India as seen through British eyes and is based on the exploits of a young boy in the Himalayas and plains of India while engaged in the Great Game.

Tintin in Tibet is one of the series of classic comic-strip albums, written and illustrated by Belgian writer and illustrator Hergé, featuring the young reporter Tintin investigating a plane crash in the Gosain Than massif in the Himalayas. (1960)

"Dragon Rider (novel)" is authored by Cornelia Funke and tells the story of an epic journey that a small boy, a brownie, and a dragon take to the "Rim of Heaven," a place in the Himalayas where dragons reside.

Seven years in Tibet is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer based on his real life experiences in Tibet between 1944 and 1951 during the Second World War and the interim period before the Communist Chinese People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet in 1950. Heinrich Harrer took part in a German mountaineering expedition to the Himalayas, intending to climb Nanga Parbat, the ninth-highest mountain in the world.

From Wikitravel

Contents

The Himalaya are a range of mountains in Asia, most correctly defined as
stretching from the Indus river in Pakistan, through India, Nepal,
Bhutan, ending at the
Bramaputra River in India. This is often extended to include the
Karakoram, the Hindu Kush, and other minor ranges extending from
the Pamir Knot, as these mountains are continuous with the Himalaya
proper, and the geographical difference makes no difference for the
traveller, we follow this convention here. This region includes the
14 highest mountains in the world, and over 100 peaks over
7200m.

Prepare

If you are not planning to do any trekking, then you will not
need any special equipment, or even warm clothing as you will be
able to pick up good warm clothing on entry to the region. If you
do need warm clothes, don't miss the second-hand markets selling
attire from wealthy nations.

If you are trekking, the equipment you will
need depends on your destination, in most of Nepal you will need
nothing more than a sleeping bag and a pair of boots; the Indian
Himalaya offer a large number of routes that are possible to trek
independently if you have a tent, stove, and all the equipment
needed for unsupported trekking.

Get in

Most parts of the Himalaya are connected to the plains to the
south, by bus and airplane.

Understand

The Himalaya are a home to a diverse number of
people, languages, and religions. Generally speaking Islam is
prevalent in the west, Hinduism in the southern ranges of the
eastern Himalaya, and Buddhism in the northern ranges of the
western Himalaya. While there are numerous languages spoken,
Hindi/Urdu (when written, they are two totally different languages,
when spoken they are nearly interchangeable) will take you very
far, as it is understood by the majority in the Pakistani, and
Indian Himalaya. In Nepal it's not very useful, but it does have
significant overlap with Nepali, and as such gives you a head start
with that language.

Regions

The northern Areas of Pakistan offers some of the most visually
stunning parts of the Himalaya. The trekking in Northern areas is
arduous, seldom without glacier crossings, and not for the
inexperienced, or unprepared. Local law, and good sense, prohibit
trekking without a local guide on most routes. As such it is one of
the more costly parts of the Himalaya for trekking. The people in
this area, while being almost entirely mulslim, are diverse, with
numerous languages, and different types of Islam followed--some
highly conservative, some noticeably liberal.

Picturesque forested mountains, this was a popular destination
with travelers until the conflict escalation between Pakistan and
India. While Srinagar is
reasonable safe, don't spend time in the country-side. Ladakh is the important exception
to this. Offering much in the way of sight-seeing, and trekking
it's not to be missed.

Wedged between, Nepal, Bhutan, China and West Bengal, Sikkim was
predominately Buddhist until the 19th century, when numerous
Nepalis came. As such there are many, Buddhist monasteries, and
related sights. Trekking here is limited due to the closeness of
the border with China. You must take a guide and go as a group,
there are very limited number of routes.

A major tourist destination, with numerous sightseeing,
trekking, and other adventure sport opportunities, Nepal has a
level of tourist specific infrastructure far in advance of anywhere
else in the region. Here you can trek for a month and stay in guest
houses every night, and need not carry more than a change of
clothes or two, and your sleeping bag. Nepal has unfortunately been
suffering from a Revolutionary Maoist uprising making the country
less than safe.

See

Most sights relate to the mountains themselves, and to religious
structures, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist. Many of the most popular
destinations are sights in themselves.

Do

Trekking is the most popular activity, with a wide selection of
possibilities, from desserts to jungles. It's also popular to study
Yoga or Meditation. White Water Rafting is popular in many
places

Altitude
sickness is a worry, with many of the passes in the Himalaya
being over 5000m. Increase your elevation as slowly as possible,
avoid flying from a low elevation to a high one, and physical
activity; and drink lots of liquids after gaining altitude.
Altitude sickness is unpredictable, and may strike people who
haven't had problems before. Give yourself lots of flexibility in
your plans, to avoid pushing yourself higher when you need to
rest.

Stay up to date with the news, and be willing to change your
plans, when going to places such as Kashmir or Nepal, that are
facing armed uprisings.

Traffic on the narrow roads is often frightening, but due to
the slow speeds is unlikely to result in fatalities.

Get out

Flights out of the Himalayas are often cancelled due to bad
weather, be sure to give yourself at least a few days before
needing to catch a connecting flight.

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The 15 highest mountains in the world are in the Himalayas. The main ones are the Mount Everest, K2, Annapurna, and Nanga Parbat. Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on the face of the Earth. Mount Everest is 8,849 meters.There are over 100 mountains and the base is 20,643 ft above sea level. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine of them are contained within the Nepal Himalayas.

The word "Himalaya" means House of Snow in Sanskrit, an old Indian language. The Himalayas are so high that they kept the Indian and Chinese people separate from each other most of the time. In fact, India is a peninsula that is cut off from the rest of Asia by the mountains. India is often called a sub-continent because it has water on three sides and mountains on the fourth.

North of the Himalayas is the Tibetan Plateau. It is called “the roof of the world”. However, the Tibetan Plateau is very dry because the plateau and the mountains act as a gigantic rain shadow.

Contents

Wild life

The Himalayas is very popular for tourists because it has a lot of wild life. The mountains and variety of forests help wildlife to live and produce successfully in it. The types of plants and trees, which are common in the place, are Oak, Pine, Fir, Rhododendron, Birch, Juniper, and Deodar. Common animals, which are seen mostly in the different parts of the Himalayas, are snow leopard, blue sheep, musk deer, tigers, elephants, wild boar, and crocodiles. Even endangered species of animals and plants are also able to find there. In the north part of the Himalayas where the temperature falls below freezing point, animals cannot survive well. However, those who adapted can survive. During the cold winters most of the animals migrate to the lower regions of the Himalayas while others like the brown bear hibernate instead. They are like wild ox and they are the largest animals in this region. In regions of Ladakh animals like Nyan, the wild and the most largest sheep and urial are found.[2]

Some of the major places for wildlife attractions in the Himalayas are:

Jim Corbett National Park

Namdhpha National Park

The Royal Chitwan Park

Kaziranga National Park

Royal Bardia National Park

Great Himalayan National Park

Five main rivers

The five main rivers of the Himalayas are the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The Himalayas is the birthplace of many important rivers. The rivers are the main source of human and animal life in those areas.[2]

Jhelum River

The river Jhelum came from a spring called Verinag, which is 80 km south of Srinagar. It is known world wide for its nine bridges. It is a very wide river and the water is quite muddy.[2]

Chenab River

The two rivers Chandra and Bhaga come together to form the Chenab River. The Chenab is in the Lahaul region of Himachal Pradesh. It came from the melted snow that was on the foot of the main range of Himalaya in the Spiti and Lahaul district. The lake of Chandra Tal also comes from these rivers.

Ravi River

With this river lots of love legends have come. The town of Chamba is on a mountain shelf on the right bank of the river. The region is famous for handicrafts like embroidered handkerchiefs, silver and leather craft and woodcarving.[2]

Beas River

The valley of Kullu and Kangra is formed by river Beas. The main force of this river is from the south of Larji.[2] There it enters the Mandi district and further still into Kangra. Its water increases to a great extent during the monsoon season so much so that it causes floods in the villages around it. The Pong Dam is made on the river to get hydroelectric power supply. At a place called Pandoh in the Mandi district the water of the Beas River have been diverted through a 53 km long tunnel to the Sutlej.[2]

Sutlej River

River Sutlej comes from the southern slopes of the mountain Kailash, near the lake of Mansarovar. It flows parallel to the Himalayas and in the end goes to the Shipki pass. It cuts through the Zanskar range, and makes a deep well part at the base of the Kinner Kailash.